Little Girls in Places and Situations and Places that Little Girls Shouldn’t Be

This project explores themes and issues related to childhood trauma that are grounded in my own personal experience with these issues. I am a trauma survivor and saying that still feels weird and wrong to say. I will write it as simply as you can define an experience that defines you. My father was physically and emotionally abusive. I guess that is as simple as I can put it, devoid of specifics. Trauma can be seen as “A thing which has not been understood inevitably reappears; like an unlaid ghost it cannot rest until the mystery has been solved and the spell broken,” which I think is an adequate description.

I tried to express this statement in my work both within recreated scenarios and emotional states. The photograph of a little girl hiding under the bed is taken from my memories of hiding under the bed from my own father; the stuffed animals are stand-ins for my siblings who experienced this with me. I didn't want the series to feel repetitive so I varied the distance between my subject in each photograph. I feel like working through this and looking at my life has become another way of healing from this abuse. 

Bio

Glynis Leski is a multidisciplinary artist based in the Toronto area. Her main practice is in digital media art such as photography. She is open and excited for any opportunities for artistic expression. The majority of her work is narrative-based, experimenting with the themes of childhood, memory, and trauma.